First place Rams travel to Utah State Wednesday

posted by CSU Athletics
-
2 years ago

Colorado State (18-4, 10-1 MW) is on the road for a matchup at Utah State (10-12, 4-7 MW) Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

With a 7-14 record at this point last year, the Rams have made a big turnaround and are inching closer to their first 20-win campaign in 11 years under Head Coach Ryun Williams, now in his second year. The team is off to its best start in 12 years, winning 14 of its last 15, and the Rams are looking to extend their win streak to eight games in the midst of conference play.

Wednesday's game will be the third consecutive Play4Kay Pink Out contest for CSU. The Rams are undefeated in Pink Out games this season.

The Rams are looking to complete their fourth regular-season sweep with a win over Utah State Wednesday. With the addition of two teams to the conference this season, schedule shuffling prevented the teams from playing two identical rounds, so the Rams have yet to see Boise State or Wyoming. Both of those schools, in addition to second-round matchups with Fresno State and UNLV, rank in the top half of the league standings, making for a tough stretch leading to the conference tournament in March.

The game will be broadcast live on AM 1410 KIIX. Matt Wozniak, now in his fifth season with the Rams, calls all the action.

About Utah State

The Aggies are looking to snap a two-game skid, with losses last week on the road to Nevada (70-66) and Boise State (83-62).

After missing the past 11 games to injury, Makenlee Williams made her first appearance on the court last week. She scored 15 points off the bench. Williams ranks as the second-leading scorer on the team with 17.3 points per game.

Jennifer Schlott tops the team's scoring production, with 24.8 points per game. She ranks first in the MW and 5th in the nation. She also ranks 19th in the country (2nd in MW) in assists per game, averaging 6.0. The 5-6 senior just became the school's all-time assists leader with 376 helpers in Saturday's loss at Boise State.

Franny Vaaulu is also averaging double figures with 10.6 points per contest. Elise Nelson is the team's leading rebounder with 6.6 boards per game.

The Aggies lead the league in free-throw percentage, fueled by Vaaulu's .867 percentage from the charity stripe. USU is also tied for first with CSU in blocks per game with 4.5.

Series vs. the Aggies

Wednesday's meeting is the 21st game between the two schools. CSU has the upper hand in the series, with an 11-9 advantage over USU all-time.

The Rams are 3-4 in Logan. The Rams last played in Utah in 1987. CSU has won the past two series matchups in the Beehive State.

Head Coach Ryun Williams is 1-0 in his career vs. Utah State with a victory earlier this season in Moby Arena.

A CSU Win Will...

Extend the Rams' win streak to eight games, surpassing their longest streak this season and tying the longest streak since 2000-01, when CSU opened the season on an eight-game run.

Be the longest win streak for the Rams ever in Mountain West play, and approach the longest streak in conference play since the fabled 1998-99 season, when the Rams finished a perfect 14-0 in league action.

Secure the most wins since the 2002-03 season when Colorado State finished 21-13 overall.

Be the first time CSU obtained 11 league victories since 2001-02, when the Rams finished 12-2 in MW action.

Ensure the highest number of road wins the program has had in 15 years, since the 1998-99 campaign, with eight.

Keep CSU at least two games ahead of Boise State in first place in the MW standings. The Broncos play at New Mexico Wednesday. Tipoff at The Pit is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.

Up Next

Colorado State is back home for one game in a rematch vs. Fresno State (13-9, 7-4 MW). Tipoff at Moby Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT.